An Elricest Tale: Masquerade
by KatYoukai
Summary: AU fic.The palace is chaotic in preperation for the upcoming masquerade.In all the chaos and confusion of the masked ball,a chance meeting is invoked. But amongst those dreamlike steps,will a new love be born?Told in a fairytalelike way. EdAl Elricest
1. Act 1

So... this took a grand total of a week to do and I rewrote it... 12 times at least. I'm planning on trying to sell this at the upcoming Anime con... so pelase give me your honest opinions on whether you'll buy this or not? And crit would be much appreciated, this fic is certainly in for a lot fo rewrites in the future. Last of all, this is the first act in what I'm hoping will be a three act ficlet. Yea... that's about it. Read and enjoy!

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**Disclaimer: Of course I own FMA. I'm Hiromu Arakawa, why, everyone knows that. **

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**Title:** An Elricest Tale: Masquerade  
**Author:** KatYoukai  
**Rating:** T  
**Genre:** Romance/Fantasy  
**Pairing:** EdAl, Elricest  
**Word Count:** 1305  
**Notes:** Don't read if you don't like slash, this fic contains homosexuality and incest. If you don't like it. Get out. Now. Oh, and it's an AU, meaning it takes place in an Alternate Universe not in Amestris like the series.

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_Once upon a whisper, an incredulous tale was born. What started as a simple rumor, spread quickly throughout the land as a half-true fairytale of whispered words and bashful glances. But it was such a dubious story – and it became more and more obscure in passing from ear to ear – that it was impossible to tell if it was merely the fleeting dream of two longing hearts… or reality. But then again, every fairytale is birthed by truth._

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**Act 1:**

The court was in pandemonium. Everyone was giddy with excitement for the upcoming masked ball. Foreign guests flooded the palace halls, the courtyards crowded with people moving from room to room with armfuls of decorations.

In a more secluded courtyard on the far west side of the palace – the ball would take place on the eastern side – Queen Trisha's ladies-in-waiting were practicing their act for the event.

The dancers' movements were lost in a maelstrom of orange, red and gold. It wasn't so much that the eyes followed the women's movements but rather the dance of their clothing. Skirts swirled and veils skimmed the air in a captivating beat. Cheers erupted from the group of onlookers as the dance concluded.

"Bravo! You got it all perfect this time," A light tenor voice laughed.

Edward Elric, heir to the Amestrian throne, was turning sixteen that year – the upcoming masquerade being in celebration of that occasion. The boy was studious but did not waste his life hiding away in his study the way his father did. Anyone could say that they were eager for the day he would succeed Hohenheim's position.

The ladies-in-waiting curtsied at the compliment and filed out of the courtyard, leaving only three girls who'd stayed behind and the two princes – the other onlookers had left as well.

"How is it that we are completely lacking in anything to do when the entire palace is swamped in work?" Alphonse Elric was Hohenheim's younger son. Unlike his elder brother, he wasn't in the people's interest. He still sat in on court councils and royal social events though.

"Bah, doesn't matter to me," Edward grunted, crossing his arms behind his head and lying down in the grass, "Before this, it was impossible for me to get a moment to myself."

Alphonse grinned, "That's because you left all your duties till the last minute, brother."

The lighter blond huffed and turned onto his side, "Whatever, just let me enjoy this rare moment of freedom in peace."

"Hn, you guys are lucky. We've got to go finish making the costumes for the masquerade," Winry said sulkily.

Rose and Noah nodded in agreement. Being the only foreigners – Noah coming from a gypsy tribe and Rose from the desert lands - in court, the two had become fast friends.

Edward shrugged and flapped a hand, "Yea, you go do that."

Ignoring his brother's response, Alphonse inquired, "Aren't you going to use the costumes you're wearing now?"

Rose tugged on her brightly coloured garb, "Of course not. These are far too plain for so grand an affair."

The younger prince's eyes lit up, "Really? Might I see what you've got so far?"

Noah's lips spread in a smile, "Sure."

"Well then, we're going, _highness_," Winry stated with an exaggerated note on the title.

She lightly cuffed the air around Edward's shoulder. Even though they had been friends since childhood, it was still forbidden for someone of her status to touch one of his rank.

The blond muttered a lazy acknowledgement. The three women curtsied and departed. Alphonse grinned and gave his brother a mockingly dramatic bow before following after the trio.

* * *

The dirty blond gaped at the array before him. Never in his fourteen years had he thought that human hands could create such a thing.

Winry grinned – in a very unladylike manner as the other ladies-in-waiting had once pointed out, "Do you like them?"

"They're beautiful," Alphonse replied.

Winry laughed, "They're not finished yet. But we should be able to finish soon now that we've rehearsed the dance enough."

A smile lit the young prince's lips, "You'll do wonderfully."

A devious glint shone in the blonde's eyes, making Alphonse cringe. That look was never a good sign.

"What is it…?"

* * *

"Now pivot to the right and keep your right heel up."

Many crashing sounds echoed from the room, causing passersby to glance at the door suspiciously.

"How graceful our prince is, tripping over his own two feet," Winry commented sarcastically.

Alphonse scowled and came to a halt, "This is embarrassing."

"But you're interested," Rose pointed out.

"There's nothing wrong with being interested in dance," Noah added.

"But it's a woman's dance," The dark blond protested. Were they teasing him?

"All the better." Winry said. They _were _teasing him!

Alphonse shuddered. He had a bad feeling about this. What was Winry scheming?

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"What were you doing with them anyways?" Edward inquired.

A faint blush mantled the other boy's cheeks, "Ah…well…"

The older brother's lips spread in a toothy grin, "You weren't doing anything naughty were you?"

"How can you speak so vulgarly?" Alphonse sputtered in outrage, then quieted, "They were… teaching me how to dance."

Edward cocked an eyebrow, "But you already know how to dance. Our teacher in etiquette pounded that into our heads a long time ago."

The darker blond flushed, "Ah… well… it was a different kind of dance."

"Oh really?" The amusement was clear in his voice, "You only did it for Winry."

Alphonse blinked in confusion, "Pardon?"

"You have feelings for her don't you?"

The boy halted abruptly and cried, "WHAT?"

Edward grinned, "Your heart is so transparent."

Alphonse stared at Edward for a moment then sighed softly, rubbing his temples, "You… you really don't understand my feelings at all…"

The lighter blond looked confused, "What do you—"

"Oh! Your highness! There you are! Magistrate Mustang told me to give this to you."

The pair looked up into the face of Cain Fury, one of the magistrate's assistants. He was holding a stack of papers against his royal blue tunic and silk hose with gold trimming – the uniform of all of Mustang's underlings.

"Uhm… thank you," Edward said as he accepted the papers.

The dark-haired man bowed low and hurried away.

Alphonse snorted, "As if I don't exist."

"He was just in a hurry," Edward took on an unreadable expression, glancing at his younger brother worriedly, "Does it really bother you that much?" There was no mistaking the guilt in those golden orbs.

The dark blond shook his head, "It's not that. I'm glad I'm younger and don't have to deal with as many duties and as much stress. But… it's just… I hate that people always forget we're brothers… like I'm not important."

"Pfft! People are just foolish. Watch me die, and _then_ they'll be fawning all over you."

"Brother!" Alphonse yelped, "How can you be so blunt about something like that!"

Edward shrugged and continued walking, "Well it's the truth."

Alphonse sighed in exasperation and followed after his brother. The blond was glancing through the documents Fury had just given him. Suddenly, a frown came to his lips. He was clearly upset by whatever was on the papers.

"What's wrong?" The dirty blond asked.

"Ah well… there's one thing that you're lucky with being the younger brother."

"What do you mean?"

Edward waved the papers suggestively, "You have the freedom to choose who you wish to marry. Not only am I betrothed to someone I've never met before, but there's all this paperwork that _I _have to do. Not to mention— Al?"

Alphonse's expression was one of pure dismay.

"What's wrong?"

The boy shook his head – a little too hard to be convincing – and assured him that nothing was wrong and he'd just gotten a little headache. Before Edward could probe further the blond was already running down the hallway.

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That's the first act. Kind of short but the next acts should be longer. Also... I need ideas for the name of this act xD Can't think of one right now... Anyways, thank you for reading, hope you liked. 


	2. Act 2

Thank you everyone for all your positive feedback. I was really happy to hear it. I apologize in advance that this act is not as well written as the last one. I'm rushing through all of this because I have to finish the story by May 20th. So I have 16 days to write Act 3. I should be fine. Thank you again for all your support, it is much appreciated!

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**Story: **An Elricest Tale: Masquerade  
**Author:** KatYoukai  
**Chapter:** Act 2  
**Word Count:** 1483  
**Rating:** Has been raised to M for implied content

**Disclaimer:** I do not in anyway own FMA. I would come up with a witty pun to accompany this... but I'm lazy.

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Act 2:

It was a week before the masked ball that word reached the palace of the coming of the prince's betrothed. Naturally, the Elric brothers were not at all pleased with this little tidbit of news.

Sunrise found the youngest of the pair seated on one of the many stone benches in the Royal Gardens, ensconced amidst the shrubs. So deep in brooding was he, that he did not notice the approaching footsteps. It was only when the other blond was standing right beside him did Alphonse notice his presence. The boy looked up, startled, into concerned golden orbs.

"Hey," Edward said dully, placing a hand on Alphonse's shoulder as he sat down.

The younger brother replied in a tone equally as dull. Life was boring. It seemed to drone on in an endless repetition of the same mindless tasks. If he wasn't lying around like a useless pile of human flesh, then he was off running errands, organizing events, or dealing with paperwork.

On top of it all, his latest revelation did little to ease the stress or pain.

_It would've been easier to accept if it were only my pain._

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"_What is wrong with you two," Winry all but screamed one afternoon._

_The two brothers cringed and looked at her, "What…?"_

_Rose sighed, placing a neatly folded pile of vibrant silk on the tabletop, "It's just that lately, you two brothers have been acting really out of it. We'd be lucky if we got a word out of either of you in a day. What's been troubling you?"_

_Edward shot her a sour look, "Must you ask? You can't expect me to find out I'm betrothed to some foreign princess I've never met and then meet her just a few days later with a big smile on my face," his tone turned soft, "Besides, I already have someone that I love."_

_The look on his face as he said those words to Rose made Alphonse's heart sink. So that was the reason why Edward had been so low in spirits lately. _

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So brother has feelings for Rose… Alphonse thought as he watched the older blond, listening to Edward's deceptively cheerful rambling and responded with a false smile.

I could've accepted it if this didn't hurt him so much as well. Here I've been moping around and acting completely ignorant to his feelings. But he's been feeling the same way…

His train of thought was interrupted by Edward's words, "…and Winry's been busy with the costume design and dance practices so I'm left to work on that part alone--," The blond stopped as Alphonse made a choking sound and glanced at his younger brother quizzically.

The boy laughed nervously, "I just remembered, I have another appointment of humiliation with Winry right now."

With a hurried farewell, he rushed off in the direction of the palace muttering something about his death, unaware of Edward's thoughtful gaze on him.

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The dirty blond sighed and collapsed into the chair, his darkened damp locks sticking to his forehead from his swear. His chest rose up and down in small ragged breaths.

Winry shot the young prince a smile reminiscent of a smirk, commenting sweetly, "Not as easy as those measly sword matches of yours is it?"

Alphonse frowned and shot back, "Dance is not a necessity of life."

"Neither is swordplay."

"It is in my life"

"As is dance. It's a part of the etiquette you are duty-bound as prince to know."

"Not a woman's dance!"

The conversation continued similarly for the next couple minutes with Winry ranting on about their poor sex-confused prince and Alphonse in denial, or so she put it. In the end, the boy succumbed to her feminine charm – or as Alphonse called it, her devious trickery – and ended up with yet another dance session.

They soon used up all their leisure time, however, and Alphonse excused himself, saying that he couldn't possibly run about his errands drenched in sweat and headed to the baths.

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Alphonse gratefully accepted a towel and bath oils from the servant outside the doors before slipping inside.

The baths were humid and steamy, making it difficult to breath and see. There were no benches around so the blond merely set his discarded clothes and towel down on the rim.

Alphonse looked up in surprise at the sound of splashing. He'd thought he was alone but apparently not.

"B-Brother!"

Edward turned around and grinned as he saw who it was. His deceptively cheerful greeting fell on deaf ears.

Edward's trailing golden locks lay afloat on the water, pooled around his broad shoulder blades, like sunshine sliding over ice. The prince's skin, tanned golden by the sun, accentuated his usually determined lemon drop eyes. Although the determined, confident shine in those golden pools had been replaced by a languid sheen, they were still as captivating as ever. It took Alphonse's breath away.

The elder brother tilted his quizzically, "Oi, Al, are you listening?"

Alphonse swallowed. This was bad.

"Uh… Al?" The younger prince was beginning to sputter nonsense.

The grey-eyed boy flushed and fled with a hurried, "I'm sorry!"

Alphonse scrambled back to the bath entrance, clumsily pulling up his breeches and slipping on his shirt as he went. He had barely made it back to his own room when his legs gave way and he collapsed against the closed door, arms hanging limply at his side. The rest was routine as his hand reached up to perform the same filthy act that he had grown so used to lately.

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Alphonse lay sprawled out on his bed in clean clothes. The ones he had dirtied with that sinful act he had thrown out. He couldn't clean it himself and neither could he risk giving it to a palace servant lest word leak out. Or worse Edward find out.

It didn't take long for the tears to come. Why was it that it seemed this always happened to him? The timing, everything, it all seemed planned for him. But then, what had he expected? Did he expect to go his whole life without incidence? Even so, it couldn't come at a better time. The stress from all the things he had to prepare for the coming events, not even getting recognition for all the problems he had to take care of, the regular paperwork, meeting with the foreign guests… and now this. It was just too much at once. He didn't even have any time to himself anymore!

The blond curled in on himself tighter. He could only hope that Edward had not seen it in all that steam. He didn't know what he would do if his brother found out.

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The dirty blond watched nervously as the blue-eyed girl prowled around the room.

"This can't be happening!" Winry screamed for the tenth time that day.

"At least she only broke her leg," Alphonse tried meekly.

"Only…? _Only?_" The young lady-in-waiting squeaked before poking her finger in the prince's face, "Now let me tell _you _something, your highness. Only is for when she breaks a nail. _Only _is for when she gets a small scratch. _Only is for when she is actually still able to dance._"

Rose sighed, "I'm terribly sorry I won't be able to dance at the masquerade, Winry. It was my fault, I should've been more careful when going out into the village."

Winry turned and rested the palm of her hand on the desert girl's shoulder, "It's alright. You couldn't have known that would happen. You just rest and let that leg heal up. But… what are we going to do for a replacement? The ball is in a day! No one could possibly learn the steps in time!"

Alphonse wondered vaguely why Winry seemed to only scream at him but immediately gentled her tone with Rose while he pondered a solution to their problem. This was indeed a fix. With the masked ball looming on hand, they'd never find a replacement dancer in time and the entire dance would be thrown off if it were to be missing a dancer.

The boy sighed, rubbing his temples. He was beginning to think that the world was conspiring against him. Everything seemed to be timed perfectly! His encounter with Edward in the baths was bad enough, – he couldn't even face the other prince now! – but now Rose wasn't able to perform at the ball.

When at first he had heard that the foreign young woman had been involved in an accident in the village, Alphonse had rushed down to the queen's quarters in worry. Upon finding that she was indeed all right, now he was faced with another problem.

Suddenly, Winry stopped pacing, coming to stiff attention. Alphonse flinched at that.

"…What?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

The blonde girl whirled around and nailed him with a disturbing look.

Scratch that. Now he was definitely sure he didn't want to know.


End file.
